Happy New Years from Apocalpse Equipped!

Happy 2012 from us at Apocalypse Equipped. Tactical Baby and I had a good night out, and we blinked and flashed our way through a gig, with bottles stowed in FUP Pouches, and a full complement of changing materials slung on a comfy belt . She wore ear-pads, a Zombie Hunter morale patch by MilSpec Monkey and traveled in her BabyBjorn Active baby-carrier.

She ended up with more lipstick on her than I did, but that's the way it goes when you wear a baby to an Amanda Palmer gig!

Review: Yukon NVMT 3x42 Nightvision & Riflescope kit

I had desperately wanted to get some night-vision gear for years, and saw some listed online, but did some shopping around, and found what appears to have been a better deal, for a more interesting set up. Some of my friends have had NVG, either as givaways with First Person Shooter games, or purchasing scopes from overseas, I was pleased to find via Ozscopes a division of the OzHut which sells a variety of things but most importantly to me included this, a 3x42 night vision monocular and riflescope kit. I tossed and turned about either getting the fully Maritime certified version, of going the only slightly less sealed but modular and rugged Spartan version.

I liked the fact that the basic scope could have both objective and eyepieces, allowing for either 2x, 3x or 4x power and either rifle-scope or binocular style eye-relief. When using the scope I found that with simple adjustment I could have near-to day visibility in my urban environment easily enough, even without the built in IR illumination. Like any magnification device, it needs focus adjustment for different ranges, but its a simple enough. The case is solid and the rubber edgings to give it a good positive grip in the food when damp, as well as offering a bit of padding. Its rated as water resistant, so not for underwater nighttime play, or casual tossing into a pond, but for my needs, its fit for purpose. The built in IR illumination is amazing, at least to my eyes, but be warned, when using in a reflective environment, its very "bright" to the receptors!

The unit is powered with a single CR123A, both the monocle and the illuminator are controlled by press buttons, and have indicator lights that light up for both. I found these to be placed in a slightly awkward position, especially when using it attached to the rifle scope kit. Opening my off-scope eye would dazzle me with the indicator LED. I think I will tape over it for my next outing The rifle scope kit comes with a mounting plate which affixes to a Weaver style rail, along with an integral pressure switch activated laser sight. The combination laser and night vision gave me a real advantage at the last Stargate LRP event, and I've also had fun watching my local wildlife, our bunnies and the like. A real win for my collection.

Review: Platatac Young Guns belt & Braces

I thought it was time to cover some of my more martial kit. I have a saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get MilSpec". Here is a piece that I've found to be very useful. I'm sure we've all had the less than ideal experience of having a belt load of tools and gear sagging and digging into your hips whilst you're running about, being very distracting. Distractions lead to poor survival outcomes. One way to avoid this is to carry less gear, which isn't really in my first choice.
The second option is a better belt. Here is what I've come across that fills that gap. Here is the Platatac Young Gun Belt.

This belt is filled with stiff foam padding and lined on the inside with a breathable mesh, reducing sweating and sticking. The outer is the standard Codura 1000d, which I chose in khaki, as usual. There are three bands of MOLLE running on the left, back and right giving ample attachment options, and I was especially interested to see that the back panel is made up of the loop side of hook-and-loop, for fitting to the internals of a pack, to act as a waist band. This kind of modularity really scores points for me and it is something I've come to expect from this brand. I used it as a place to put my Stargate LRP name-strip, and morale patches. The MOLLE on the left and right flanks also features an extra-wide attachment point,which is the perfect place for a drop-leg sling, or a holster, whichever is most appropriate.

The belt itself curves, tailored in a wide C shape, rather than being straight, adding to the ergonomics of the unit when worn under load, but something important to note is that this is an outer belt fitting, and doesn't actually include a belt to fasten it. However, any belt up to 50mm wide can be fitted through its middle and I used my old trusty webbing belt to secure it, with a piece of scrap paracord weaving as a fob (because I like having busy hands and don't like throwing away scraps.) I tend to use this belt as my "first layer" of kit carriage, with an entrenching tool (not pictured) at my back left, my drop-leg dump pouch from front left, and utility pouches and canteen on the right hand side.

One more excellent feature of this belt are the four D-rings that enable the fitting of the belt to either a vest or armour carrier, or to a set of braces such as the Platatac Combat braces. I was fortunate to get a set bundled in with my belt, after talking to the guys in the shop, and after some time spent fitting and adjusting (as I have a skinny torso, and the braces would easily suit a large manly man) I got a setting that was comfortable enough to wear long term, even with quite a load on the belt.

This is really touch and well put together piece of kit. I'm really satisfied with this set as a load bearer, and good for keeping my "first layer" gear together and on hand, be it for LRP, wilderness adventure or responding to a disaster!

Review: LazerBrite

I've loved cyalume sticks for as long as I can remember, for festivals and parties as a boy, camping and LRPing as an adult, and as part of my bug-out-bag, and emergency kit in bot the car and at home. However, they are one-use-only. Even if you get more than a single night's light out of them, which in a pinch, and in a cold climate, you may, once the glass phial of hydrogen peroxide is broken, the chemical clock is counting down. This is a real shame be cause it not only means you need to replace the glow-stick, the waste builds up. Ask anyone who cleans up after raves or music festivals.
 Then along came the crazy folks from LazerBrite with their very ingenious product. Instead of a once off chemiluminescent mixture in a translucent tube, they fitted high efficiency LED's to a  translucent tube. Or rather, they fitted the LED to a nodule, which can be threaded onto a translucent tube.
These modular lights have threaded ends at either end, enabling the LED to be fitted either facing into, or out of the tube, lending itself to being used either as a traditional looking glow-stick, or with the fitting of one of the "glow-dome" ends, produce a diffuse, wide area illumination source. The added bonus of this is that the lights can be tailored to the need, and reconfigured at a moments notice. Simply unscrewing the heads and rotating the bulbs allows one, the other or both LED's to be facing in or out as the need requires. No tools required. Brilliant!


The second generation "Multi-Lux" version of the heads have three settings; Low, High and a two-flash pulse. This gives not only several options for both signalling, but endurance and light discipline purposes. Another awesome feature is the range of colours available in the LED's; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and White. They also offer an IR option, but due to ITAR regulations, were not able to ship me any (yet). Battery replacement needs a coin or flathead screwdriver to quickly achieve. There is also a lanyard end which warrants mention, allowing either the whole tube, or in fact just the LED head, to be fitted to a lanyard, or affixed to your kit. I plan on using mine as a "light grenade", sort of high-powered LED-Throwies for not only my Stargate LRP, but also just camping fun. Its also worth mentioning a key feature that several of the tubes can be daisy-chained together, as each head is threaded front and back, to make a sizable pole of illumination.

Modular, rugged, 10 year battery shelf life, small, lightweight, waterproof and reliable, with up to 75 hours of battery life per head, reported to be visible 1 mile away. Whats not to like?

Review: Gerber Bear Grylls Basic Survival Kit!

I came across a pretty good deal the other day on Catch Of The Day which I thought I would share with you here. I'm not usually one to buy into the "celebrity swag" but looking at the contents listed, I thought this would be a good investment, not only for my own collection, but also as a guide for what goes into a good "survival pack". I did Outdoor Ed whilst living in Canada, and I've kept a variety of packs going over the years. I've seen the Bear Grylls show, and some of the products that have been branded with his name, and whilst I may be skeptical of the contents of the show, I most certainly enjoy the extremes he is willing to go to to prove what one could do to survive. I also enjoyed seeing the swag of Gerber tools including Bear Grylls branded kit on AMC's "Walking Dead" but that isn't quite where we're up to yet. There is more to survival in a disaster than just hacking and chopping (as much fun as that may be). Other needs need to be met, and a kit like these can go a long way to seeing to those.

Included in within the bright orange ripstop baggie is a second, waterproof bag and the following: a signalling whistle, always a good inclusion, as yelling is hard, and anyone can make a loud noise with a whistle. I have a three year old, and if she can effortlessly give an ear-splitting whistle with it, so can you, even if fatigued, injured or otherwise occupied. a packaged set of long beaded matches and a striker, good for getting a fire lit in less than ideal situations. A cotton ball, for kindling. Waxed twine, which has many uses, be it binding, mending or setting snares. The copper wire is just that, snare wire, not easily chewed by the poor unfortunate critter that will serve as an impromptu meal, but much hardier than just waxed twine, a length of nylon cordage which whilst not paracord, would serve in a variety of circumstances, and is light and bright. A Bear Grylls branded fire steel and bottle opener which is a great addition to any kit, as they are all-weather, very long lasting sources of of fire.
Also included is a very sweet little Gerber Paraframe-Mini blade, sporting a drop point, half serrations, a skeletonised handle and frame-lock. This hungry little knife makes an excellent addition to any survival kit, so much so that I tried to push it on my partner to be part of their EDC, but was admonished to leave the kit whole, as intended. The final part of the kit is a little booklet with Bear's how-to's. I haven't had a look yet, I'll leave it as a surprise for when disaster strikes.

I haven't decided where to keep this kit, but I'm glad I have it.

Review: Opt Silicone Armor iPhone case

When I upgraded to my iPhone 4S, I decided that I needed a new, rugged case.  I had looked into a Kickstarter program for a rugged, waterproof case, but when the big fuss over what the iPhone 5 would be like when it was released, and I chickened out. big mistake. There was no 5, and the 4S as we all know looks just like the 4. So I backed out, and thus, missed out. In the mean time, I needed something that would protect my new shiny iPhone. In my foray into the local iPhone skin shop, I came across this. Here is the Opt Silicone Armor Case. This isn't the first semi-rigid rubberized iPhone case I've had, however I think it is the best one I've had.

It has a grippy texture, rather than being slick, with ample knobby structures to give it positive hold in my hand, but not so much as to make it snag when withdrawing it from ones pocket. The case itself has openings at the back for both camera and flash, and an opening to show of the Apple logo, but fits so snugly that I haven't had an issue with dust accumulation. The earphone jack and mic opening is also sufficient for every headphone I've used with it thus far (a problem I've encountered in past) and the data port at the bottom works on the bases I have.
Most impressive however is the wire exoskeleton that holds the whole thing together and gives it its rigid structure, as well as protecting the corners (a common breakage point, I've noted). It also gives the case an attachment point for the included webbing and carabiner, which is an excellent means of retention. I clip mine onto my vest harness, along with my keys. This not only keeps my phone from falling, but the distance it gives is pretty much perfect for me to check my phone for messages and access to apps, all with "drop everything" security. It isn't the full immersion case that I was initially looking for, but it's sturdy, grippy and latches onto my kit, belt, bracelet, whatever. Good compromise, and keeps my shiny toy safe.

Review: CountyComm Breacher Bar

Here's another awesome piece of steel from the good folks at CountyComm, who's keychain-tool goodies I have reviewed previously and i wanted to write about here. This is the EOD Robotics Breacher Bar. When I first saw this, I initially thought it was a solid blade with an unusual flat tip but after further investigation I discovered a much more interesting fact. It's a pry-bar, chisel and chopping tool all in one. Made from a single slab of 1045 high carbon steel and reported as being  heat-treated to a Rockwell hardness of over 45, this is a very solid piece.

Because of it's hardening,  it can be hammered either along the spine, or at the base, to chisel, puncture or get good purchase for prying.
There are four holes drilled in the body of the handle, three centrally, with two at the base and two along the midline with one diagonally offset. This offers a variety of attachment points for adding code grip and lanyard loops for retention. I opted for paracord, using one of the patterns is saw on CountyComm's website.

I really like the feel of the solid utility this piece offers the hand, which very nicely corresponds to functionality in the field. I've used it to pry apart packing crates, lift the corners of heavy stacks and pry jammed doors and windows. I also wear it on my webbing as it fits nicely between the bands of MOLLE, (such as this piece of Platatac accessory strapping) and adds to my carriable tool kit when I am out at my Stargate LRP events, looking for all the world like a knife, without the edgy risks. This is great tool for all kinds of close-at-hand breaking, opening and smashing where a bigger tool is either overkill, or impractical to carry about.  Be warned, it it -not- stainless, and will require some maintenance to remain rust free.

Here is a movie that CoutyComm put out, demonstrating some of the features and uses of this awesome tool!